The Scriptures as Coloring Book
The First Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
Columbus, Ohio
September 7, 1997
Memory Verse: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)
Today's Texts: 2 Kings 22:3-13, Psalm 1:1-6, and Luke 4:16-21
Although it has been a great week to get back to work as we approach the conclusion of our renovations in the sanctuary, it has also been a sobering week. The deaths of Princess Diana, Mother Teresa, and even Katherine Watson, the little girl struck by a car in Westerville, have effected me more than usual. This has been due, in part, to my involvement with the life and death struggles of two of our own church members: Mel Davis and Dale Wade.
For Mother Teresa and Mel Davis, both of whom were born at about the same time, there is not the sense of tragedy that comes with the death of a younger person. With all of them, however, there is a sense of loss that cannot be denied. Each, in his or her own way, has touched this world and made a difference in the lives of people. For that we can be thankful. We can also be inspired to embody the Spirit in our own lives.
If we each renew our efforts to care for people and serve the poor, if we each take the time to play with children and love our neighbor, then their life and witness will be strengthened. Before we turn to our topic for the day, I would ask us to pause for a moment of silence. Mel Davis and Dale Wade have not died; but they have been very close to death in the past week. Dale has had a remarkable reprieve and is no longer in immediate danger. All of these people, their families and friends, need our prayers. Let us pray.
Prayer: Lord God, you alone are holy; in heaven and on earth there is no one like you. The mysteries of life and death are beyond our understanding. We place our trust in you, the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega, the One who is and was and is to come. Strengthen your servants with streams of living water. Help us to live by your wisdom and word. Now may the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
My time away has given me a break from the constant deadlines of sermons and newsletter articles. I thank you for your understanding and support of this time off; even pastors -- perhaps especially pastors -- need time to get away in order to draw fresh water from the well. I often thought of you and this place. It was made easier knowing that the pastoral responsibilities and the building renovations were in such good hands. I'm sure that you join me in thanking the Rev. Carlton Weber for his exemplary service.
As some of you know, I spent a week of my time away with my family and some of our church members at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York state. This institution brings together an incomparable mix of the arts, religion, education, and leisure activities. It is a stimulating and yet relaxing environment. The best speakers of the week, in my estimation, were Richard Goodwin and his wife Doris Kearns Goodwin. Both of them have had fairly intimate relationships with some of the great leaders of the 20th century, and their speeches were peppered with colorful reminiscences.
On one occasion, Richard Goodwin was telling a story -- a story that cannot be retold as colorfully as he told it -- of President Lyndon Baines Johnson and Governor George Wallace from Alabama. This was during the 1960s at the height of the civil rights struggle. Things were breaking down in Alabama, when Governor Wallace asked for an audience with the President. A meeting was quickly set up at the White House.
Goodwin talked about the contrast of the two men, in size and demeanor. As if Johnson's large physical stature wasn't enough, he sat Wallace down on a low, soft sofa so that Johnson could tower over him even while sitting down. The conversation began by the President saying something like, "Now, Governor, you do agree that all people have the right to vote, don't you?. I think it says that in the Constitution."
At which point the President paused and looked around at his aides, one of whom was Richard Goodwin. "Doesn't it say that in the Constitution, Dick?" he asked. "Get me one of those Constitutions. I want to see what it says." At which point they found a copy of the Constitution, and President Johnson proceeded to read from the fifteenth Amendment: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
As I listened to Richard Goodwin tell this story of how the President called for and upon the Constitution of the United States to intimidate and corral the Governor, I found myself thinking of all the times that our Secretary, Rick Pfeiffer, has called for the Constitution of First Church during a Council meeting to clarify what we should or should not be doing. Hearing the President of the United States use the Constitution in the exact same way created an amused stir throughout the amphitheater since it demonstrated such an obvious and yet often overlooked principle: our democratic freedoms do not give us license to say and do whatever we want.
For the past several months this church has been involved in small group discussions about what we can do to improve our ministry with members and friends. The question of another ordained person on the staff of our church has been part of a much larger question: what can we do to better meet the needs of one and all? Although I have not heard reports from all the groups, the little bit that has filtered back to me has been impressive. This church has been doing good and creative thinking that will serve us well as we make plans for the future.
As we do this thinking we must be aware that neither are we free to invent ourselves out of whole cloth. Like the United States of America, we too have a Constitution which governs how we make decisions, who has authority for what, and the overarching vision of our life together. The purpose of this church "is to provide for the worship of God and the spiritual enlightenment and improvement of the people of God; to further Christian fellowship among its members and among all people; and to promote, through its services and work, the practice of Christian love and discipleship." (Article II).
In order to realize this vision, each member is united to one another by a mutual covenant, which is as follows: "We covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ and with one another, and bind ourselves in the presence of God to live together in all God's ways as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit and the holy scripture." This Constitutional covenant is no Johnnie-come-lately in the history of First Church. I have traced it back at least as far as the turn of the century, and it may go all the way back to the beginning -- 145 years ago. In the membership book we have been using since 1941, each and every person who has joined this churched has signed his or her name to this simple statement of intent.
"To live together in all God's ways as revealed to us by the Holy Spirit and the holy scripture." This short but powerful statement calls us to live for God, rather than for ourselves, under the guidance and inspiration of two realities that no one here can change or control, not even by a two-thirds majority vote. The Holy Spirit and the holy scripture are the foundational sources of revelation for our life together. With their help we can indeed make improvements that will endure the test of time.
But what do those improvements look like and how do we get from here to there? Small group discussions of what you and I want will only take us so far in our attempt to answer these profound and far reaching questions. We must also find out what God wants, by listening to the Spirit and searching the scriptures. We dare not neglect these sources of revelation in the formulation of our plans. To do so would not only violate our Constitution and covenant, it would also risk the integrity and viability of our efforts themselves. We are, after all, a Christian church. And to these guides we must be true.
As an ongoing part of our process, therefore, we will have decided to share together in something called The 50 Day Spiritual Adventure. How many of you have read about the Adventure in the newsletter, on our Web site, or have heard about this through one grapevine or another? I hope the things you've read or heard will make you want to participate.
Allow me to put this in the context of our congregational process. The theme of this year's Adventure is The Church You've Always Longed For. For seven or eight weeks, the Adventure helps people think biblically and theologically about the most fundamental of questions. What does God want the church to be? And what can you and I do to help us get there?
The Adventure helps us think about these questions through daily scripture readings, journal writing, prayer, and an accompanying guidebook entitled I Like Church, But.... These resources will be available during our fellowship hour this morning and next Sunday, immediately after worship. We hope that many of you will make a commitment to participate in the Adventure in this way, beginning one week from tomorrow. There will also be adult education classes and small groups throughout the week to discuss the various themes. You can participate in these small group discussions whether you do the daily devotional or not. Finally, my sermons will follow the curriculum as well.
The point of all this study and devotion is to pick up some momentum in our journey as a congregational church. Our polity gives the congregation so much attention and autonomy, that it is easy to become discouraged when the congregation has troubles and it is easy to forget that we too are subject to a Higher Power. The words of scripture and the movement of the Spirit have been given to us as resources which can be mined for great treasure. The Adventure is designed to help us do just that: to put the excitement back into our family of faith as we open ourselves up to the agency of God.
The Old Testament lesson of Josiah's reformation is a classic example of what can happen when people get serious about the word of God. They too were involved in a major reconstruction of their house of worship. They too had conducted a massive capital campaign. They too had hired skilled workers and artisans. But the significant thing was not what happened to their building, but what happened to the people and their leaders.
As they started construction on the Temple, they discovered the book of law. Perhaps it had been hidden away during another time of persecution. Perhaps it had been stored for safe keeping. In any event, it had been long forgotten. Once it was discovered, however, the book launched a great reformation. The king tore his clothes and wept before the Lord. The people made a covenant to follow all God's ways. They took down the shrines to other gods and worshiped the God of heaven and earth.
Talk about the pen being mightier than the sword! The discovery of this one book, which scholars believe may have been the book of Deuteronomy, transformed an entire generation.
The scriptures seemed to have had the same effect in Jesus' day. He may have been the Son of God, who could speak on his won authority, but even Jesus sought to anchor his ministry in the sacred writings of his day. Coming to his hometown synagogue, at the start of his ministry, he was asked to read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Jesus went and found the place where it was written that the Spirit of the Lord had anointed him to minister with the poor, the captive, the oppressed, and the blind. "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21).
Passages like these are what led me to entitle this sermon The Scriptures as Coloring Book. The scriptures define the boundaries of who we are as a people and of what God calls us to be and do. Apart from the revelation of scripture, we might never know of God's intentions and designs. It's one thing to believe in a generic Creator; it's quite another thing to believe in a God who chooses, acts, blesses, judges, saves, nourishes, and sanctifies people to a high and holy calling.
The stories of scripture reveal a God with big plans for the church. They are the outlines of a picture that can only be seen as we connect the dots and paint the numbers with our own faithful lives. "Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." That is the challenge that Jesus brought to the people of his day, and that is the challenge that scripture lays at our feet today.
Do you hear the voice of God? Do you see the picture? The 50 Day Spiritual Adventure will help us do just that by guiding our reading of scripture and our reflections upon it. The covenant of membership in our Constitution is, after all, a bit empty if we claim to seek the revelation of scripture but we never actually read the scriptures. 10 or 15 minutes a day may do more for the overall growth and development of this church than any other activity in which we can engage. This is the promise of the gospel. This is the hope for us all. Amen.
The Holy Spirit as Coloring
Outside the Lines
The First Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
Columbus, Ohio
September 14, 1997
Memory Verse: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)
Today's Texts: 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Psalm 51:10-19, and Luke 6:1-11
Prayer: Holy Spirit, you have led us to create this space in which to encounter and know your Presence. Lead us now in the preaching of your word and the meditations of all our hearts. Amen.
Those of you who are visiting this morning for the first time will either be in for a treat or will be out of luck, depending upon your perspective. Because of the rededication liturgy, which will take place later in this worship service, there's no time for a full length sermon. For that you'll have to come back next week, when we will commission our new confirmation class as they begin a nine-month journey together. On the other hand, for those of you who like short sermons, I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm not always this short-winded!
It's hard to believe, but I have now served as your Senior Minister for almost four years. During that time, the rest of the Protestant pulpits on Broad Street have turned over -- making me the ranking clergy in a group of six or seven churches with many historic connections. It is interesting how one's perspective and responsibility changes over time. It's now up to me, for example, to make sure that the ecumenical Good Friday service continues properly. It seems like only yesterday when I was asked to preach at that service, as the new kid on the block. Time has a way of marching on.
Occasions such as our Rededication Service don't come along every day. They give us reason to look back and to think about the shoulders upon which we stand. The glorious facility in which we worship today would not be here without the vision, commitment, sacrifice, and stewardship of those who have gone before us. We owe it to them, to ourselves, and to those who will come after us to make this facility the best it can possibly be for the 21st century.
As part of my reflections on this day, I found myself reviewing the Local Church Profile which this church completed in January of 1993 as part of the search process for a new Senior Minister. This was the Profile sent to me by the Search Committee, when I was a candidate for the position, to help me learn more about First Church and the kind of minister for which you were looking.
The "challenges inherent in a downtown location" were clearly recognized. So was the desire for someone who would reinforce the social gospel and "articulate a vision" for the church. Preaching, problem-solving, and people were strongly indicated priorities. All this made me very excited about the prospect of coming to First Church. It seemed to be a perfect match. One thing that added to my excitement was your answer to question 11.C: "Is a building program projected?" Your answer, with two "Xs" as if to emphasize the point, was a definitive "no."
The rest, as they say, is history. 25 months later, in February of 1995, we were gathered in this room as pastor and people to vote unanimously in favor of raising almost $1.5 million to renovate and retrofit this facility as well as to create certain mission and program endowments. I'm not sure we believed at the time that we could make such an ambitious goal. But make it we did, and now here we sit: in one of the most beautiful, brilliant, pristine, and prodigious sanctuaries in all of Columbus if not the region.
No one should be upset or surprised that things did not work out as you had thought in January of 1993. That's how the Holy Spirit works. As someone once said, "The sign of God is that we are led where we did not plan to go." When God gets hold of a situation, there's no telling what may happen. The One who creates the rules and regulations, the One who establishes the customs and traditions, has demonstrated time and again a certain recklessness as to how the game is played. The freedom of God's Spirit never ceases to boggle people's minds.
David and his companions were on a mission for King Saul and they were hungry. He found the local priest and asked for something to eat. The priest replied, "I have no ordinary bread. Only the consecrated bread. Only the holy bread. Only the bread of the Presence of God." David insisted that their mission and his companions were holy enough, and eventually the priest capitulated.
Jesus picked up this story and said, "See, that's what I've been trying to tell you. The rules were made for people, not people for the rules. When you can't even glean some food on the Sabbath or heal a man with a withered hand, you've got a real problem on your hands. Love is the first and greatest commandment of them all."
So it continues today. People gather in societies of like-minded people, they develop certain conventions, they read certain scriptures, and before you know it there's a set of rules and expectations to which we must conform. Christians are no less guilty than all the rest.
But every once in a while along comes the Spirit of God, stirring the water, shattering our expectations, challenging our traditions, moving us to go where we never imagined we might end up. I can still hear Wally Giffen asking, in response to those who were reluctant to improve the lighting in the sanctuary, "What's so holy about gloom?" Mac Anderson tells me that Wally's been asking that question for 15 years. Well, Wally, here you have it -- no more gloom! And I doubt there's a person in this place who cannot hear every word I'm saying.
Although the Holy Spirit has a proclivity for coloring outside the lines, stretching the hearts and minds of even the most seasoned believers, there are things we can do to be more attentive and open to that Spirit in our everyday lives. I want to remind you, especially since we have many people here who may be thinking about whether or not to come back next week, that our church will be participating in The 50 Day Spiritual Adventure starting tomorrow. This Adventure includes a daily devotional guide as well as small group opportunities. We hope that you will participate in the Adventure by picking up your materials today, after worship, downstairs in the Parish Hall, during the fellowship hour. It promises to be a time of renewal and discernment. It promises to build enthusiasm and direction as we make plans for the future.
Never forget that this wonderfully restored sanctuary is itself a testimony to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Pushing us to give more than we thought we could give. Pushing us to change more than we thought we could change. Pushing us to love more than we thought we could love. "The sign of God is that we are led where we did not plan to go." I, for one, am glad that we were led to this moment today, together, as the faithful people of God. Amen.